NPPA Revises Ceiling Prices for 6 Drugs Including Clarithromycin, Vitamin C, Details

These adjustments were made to address concerns raised by various pharmaceutical companies, ensuring accurate pricing and compliance with regulatory guidelines. The revisions covers a diverse range of drug categories, including local anesthetics, antibiotics, and vitamin supplements.

In the category of local anesthetic drugs, the ceiling price of lignocaine injection 2% was revised upward from Rs 1.04/ml to Rs 1.14/ml. This change followed Neon Laboratories' challenge, arguing that its product, Lox Viscous 2%, was inappropriately included in the earlier pricing calculations. Similarly, the price of lignocaine topical forms (2-5%) was slightly reduced from Rs 1.13/gm or ml to Rs 1.08/gm or ml, reflecting refined data inputs.

The pricing of antibiotic drugs, particularly clarithromycin, also underwent adjustments. The ceiling price for clarithromycin 250 mg tablets was increased from Rs 23.89 to Rs 24.06 per tablet. This revision came after Abbott pointed out differences in the inclusion of Glenmark's Maclar prices in the earlier computations. Likewise, clarithromycin oral liquid (125 mg/5 ml) saw its price adjusted from Rs 4.61/ml to Rs 4.65/ml after Cipla successfully argued that the Price to Retailer (PTR) for its brand Synclar had been miscalculated.

Also Read: DoP orders NPPA to reassess price of Cipla's Advent, Synclar and Azee drugs

Vitamin supplements such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and thiamine injection (100 mg/ml) were also part of the revisions. The price of ascorbic acid tablets was increased from Rs 1.48 to Rs 1.54 per tablet following a review requested by Koye Pharmaceuticals. The company highlighted errors in the PTR data for its Celin brand and Abbott's Limcee, as well as the omission of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) adjustments. Meanwhile, the ceiling price of thiamine injection was revised upward from Rs 22.59/ml to Rs 26.70/ml, addressing a grievance by Ordain Health Care Global, which noted inaccuracies in the earlier inclusion of combination products.

Also Read: DoP orders NPPA to re-evaluate ceiling price of vitamin product Thiamin 100 mg

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